Casey opposes stem cell bill
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Article RatingWASHINGTON — After months of meetings with people on both sides of the stem cell debate, Sen. Bob Casey said he will oppose a bill that would clear the way for government financing of new embryonic stem cell research.
Legislation coming up for debate today in the Senate would lift President Bush’s 2001 ban on taxpayer-funded research of embryonic stem cells developed after that time.
In an effort to win the support of lawmakers like Casey who have backed the ban, sponsors included a provision stating that Congress endorses all types of stem cell research. A similar bill passed Congress last year, but was vetoed by President Bush.
Casey, D-Pa., has been lobbied by bill backers attempting to garner the two-thirds Senate support needed to override a presidential veto.
Casey, who is Catholic and opposed to abortion, said in a statement released Monday he doesn’t support the bill because “I remain opposed to federal funding for research that involves the destruction of living embryos.”
Supports other types
As he said in his campaign last year, Casey noted he continues to support funding for other types of stem cell research that don’t involve the destruction of embryos, such as umbilical and adult stem cells.
He also said in the campaign that he supported Bush’s ban.
“I have listened carefully, especially to those whose loved ones are suffering from serious diseases and disabilities and who disagree with my position,” Casey said. “I deeply respect their views and hope they can come to understand mine.”
Casey’s position counters that of his Republican colleague, Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, who has been one of the Senate’s most vocal supporters of embryonic stem cell research.
The stem cell debate centers on the process — still in development — of extracting material from days-old human embryos that can morph into any tissue in the body. Many scientists say this type of research has the potential to cure diseases and injuries, but opponents say the process of extracting stem cells kills the embryo and is immoral.
An alternative bill coming up this week, sponsored by Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., would direct the Health and Human Services Department to establish guidelines for stem cell research on embryos that have naturally lost the ability to develop into human beings.
It also would ban most procedures by which embryos are created for research.
Casey supports the Isakson bill, said Casey spokesman Larry Smar.
